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culture

At our company we are known for having a great culture. You can feel it when you walk in: people are at ease, they obviously enjoy what they do and the people they work with. But what drives a great culture? What continues to sustain it and how do you know it when you get there?

Last week, I attended my first DevOpsDays PDX! I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but it seemed like a cool conference - DevOps obviously intersects with QA work, and my interest has been peaked by articles I’ve read from the likes of New Relic, Julia Evans, and Etsy.

My kid is a year and a half old. She is accumulating language at a startling rate. A few weeks ago, she started saying “no.” No has quickly become her favorite word. She uses it to mean everything from “I’d prefer to have sugar, please,” to “get that toothbrush away from me.” Sometimes she really means no, but when she really really means it, she doesn’t say the word. She behaves no by turning her head, or, worse, swatting the offending thing away.

A few weeks ago, I joined some of my Toads at the first TechTown Change Agents, an event put on by Portland Development Commission to talk about how we can bring diversity, inclusion, and equity to our workplaces. One of the most interesting conversations revolved around the topic of culture. What makes up a company’s culture? How can a company show their culture?

Why Do the Toads Blog?

Blogging is a cornerstone of Metal Toad culture. Historically, our blog has driven a huge amount of our overall web traffic and has given Toads the opportunity to engage both international development/project management and our local community.

The annual Survey for People Who Make Websites from our friends at A List Apart has gone up, and I encourage you to take ten minutes to participate. This survey is the only source of information about our industry, and by taking it, you benefit us all. Here's what they have to say about it: